Chapter 216: One More Then

Chapter 215

Of course, what Liyu didn’t know...and what would have shocked him more than anything if he had known...was the fact that the skills Shi Tian was using weren’t something he had inherited from the Shi Clan, nor had he learned them from some ancient manual passed down through generations, obtained them from some legendary inheritance, or even acquired them as techniques that someone else had created and taught him.

No. They were skills that Shi Tian had created all by himself, every single one. That fact alone was insane and astonishing to say the least, because to create something as terrifying as the Wind Sovereign Art entirely by oneself was already an achievement beyond the imagination of ordinary cultivators.

And Shi Tian hadn’t merely created it; he had spent years refining, mastering, and perfecting it, turning every single form into something that could be used to slaughter enemies far stronger than himself, which was simply absurd.

Liyu took in a deep, steady breath, his chest rising and fell as he tried to recover the breath he had lost during the previous exchange. That last attack...that attack was something else entirely.

If he hadn’t used a large chunk of his Qi to trigger a lightning detonation and force himself out of the most dangerous part of the assault, he might not have been able to survive with only these few scratches.

Liyu lowered his gaze and looked at his own body covered in bruises, cuts, blood, and torn sections of his Celestial Battle Skin, realizing his entire body looked like a mess. And the worst part of it all...he had been pushed into this state by a defensive skill.

A defensive skill! That fact alone made Liyu truly wary, leaving him wondering what kind of attacking skills Shi Tian possessed. If his defensive techniques were already this terrifying, then what would happen when he actually used one of his offensive forms? The thought made Liyu’s expression grow solemn, leaving him truly and genuinely weary.

Liyu’s mind raced as he needed a way out of this situation, a strategy, anything, because he couldn’t simply continue exchanging attacks with Shi Tian like this; if he did, he would eventually die.

He was already being pushed this far by the defensive and movement forms of the Wind Sovereign Art, and now that Shi Tian had decided to become serious, the situation could only become worse. Liyu was thinking rapidly, trying to figure out how he was going to salvage the situation, when his eyes suddenly met Shi Tian’s.

Shi Tian stood several meters away with his sword in his hand, his posture relaxed and his expression having barely changed. If anything, he seemed relatively calm. Too calm. Liyu’s eyes twitched. Damn it. What is this guy thinking?

The battle had already reached this point, they had fought for so long, Liyu had endured countless attacks, he had been wounded repeatedly, and he had been forced to use nearly everything at his disposal just to stay alive.

Yet Shi Tian...that bastard had remained calm throughout the entire battle, as if he hadn’t become tired at all, as if none of the attacks had truly threatened him, and as if the entire battle was unfolding exactly according to his plan under his total control.

Liyu’s expression became increasingly grim as he was still trying to come up with a strategy to face this freak called Shi Tian when Shi Tian spoke.

His voice was the same as always...cold, low, and emotionless. "I admit you are different from the rest." His tone didn’t sound complimentary; there was no praise hidden within his words, no admiration, and no excitement. He simply stated it as a fact.

"You are different from the others." His dark eyes remained fixed on Liyu. "They are nothing but weaklings." He paused briefly. "And maybe..." His voice remained completely flat. "...you might really grow to become a strong individual in the future."

Liyu’s eyes narrowed, but Shi Tian continued, his expression remaining unchanged. "It doesn’t matter now. Your death has come. There is no surviving it."

The words landed heavily as Shi Tian calmly lifted his sword. "I had my fun. Do you have any last words to say before I end this?" Liyu’s eyes twitched. What the hell?

Why did this guy sound as though he were delivering an executioner’s statement, as though Liyu’s death had already been decided, and as though there was absolutely nothing Liyu could do about it? Just how prideful did someone have to be to look at everyone else as though they were beneath him? Liyu’s eyes twitched again.

"Damn bastard..." Shi Tian tilted his head slightly. "Is that your last word?" He raised his sword, the cold metal gleaming beneath the moonlight and reflecting a faint silver brilliance that made the blade appear even more sinister.

Shi Tian truly wouldn’t have given his opponent time to say their last words, but he had said he would give Liyu that privilege because Liyu was different. Unlike the countless weaklings that plagued the world, Liyu had managed to earn enough of Shi Tian’s recognition for him to hear his final words; he would allow Liyu to speak, and then he would kill him.

That was the extent of the privilege. Seeing that the bastard was genuinely serious about allowing him to say his last words, every muscle in Liyu’s body tensed simultaneously, his senses sharpened, his perception expanded, and he pushed his awareness to its maximum.

Green lightning began crackling violently around his body, dancing across his skin and wrapping around his limbs like living serpents. Liyu prepared himself; whatever Shi Tian was about to throw at him, he would defend against it, having no intention of simply standing there and waiting for death.

"Last word, huh?" Liyu suddenly flashed Shi Tian a feral grin, his eyes narrowed, and he spoke. "What about..." A pause. "Fuck you."

Silence. For a moment, nothing happened. Shi Tian’s expression didn’t change not even slightly; there was no anger, no surprise, no irritation, and nothing. He simply gave a subtle nod, and then...Drifting Gale.

WHOOSH! Shi Tian vanished. His speed seemed to have tripled compared to the speed he had displayed earlier, shifting from standing there calmly to...Whoom! Whoosh! Liyu’s pupils constricted as he felt something flash past him, something so fast that his body barely had time to react...a strange sensation, something passing by that lasted for only a moment and then stopped.

Liyu’s eyes widened slightly as Shi Tian had already landed several meters behind him with his back facing Liyu, his sword remaining in his hand, and his posture calm and unchanged. And then...that same emotionless voice escaped his mouth.

"Seventh Form...Wind Severance." As he said that, Shi Tian slowly and calmly sheathed his sword. Clink. The metallic sound of the blade sliding back into its sheath rang through the arena, crisp and strangely loud in the aftermath of his attack.

And the moment that sound reached Liyu’s ears...a sudden, subtle pain spread through his body. At first, it was almost imperceptible, and then...Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Several thin red lines suddenly surfaced across Liyu’s body, his expression changed, and before he could even react, the red lines deepened.

His hands were dismembered, the terrifyingly sharp force cutting straight through flesh and bones as his arms, torso, and legs...his entire body seemed to have been sliced apart at once. Blood sprayed into the air. Liyu’s body staggered, looking as though he was literally teetering on the very edge of death.

What is happening?! Liyu’s mind screamed as he was unable to react fast enough. His sight suddenly blurred, and then it disappeared entirely as his eyes had been sliced through as well.

Blood gushed from his face and skull, pouring down his body as the pain of being diced and sliced apart once again completely overwhelmed his senses. The pain was too much, far too much, flooding every corner of his consciousness until even his thoughts seemed to become fragmented.

Despair. For the first time in this battle, Liyu felt something dangerously close to true despair. His body had been torn apart, his vision was gone, his limbs had been severed, and he couldn’t even properly understand what had happened before the agony swallowed everything. And just then...Ding! Rapid Regeneration Pill has been consumed. 20× boost to natural healing.

The system notification rang inside Liyu’s mind, while at the same time, Shi Tian, who already believed that he had successfully slain Liyu, calmly turned his gaze toward the stage with an expression that remained completely emotionless. But something felt wrong.

Something isn’t right. That thought barely crossed his mind before...BOOM! A large dome made entirely from violently crackling green lightning suddenly erupted around Liyu, surrounding his entire body as a cocoon of dense, raging lightning completely covered him, blocking the view of everyone outside.

Shi Tian looked at the scene without his expression changing in the slightest. "So he still has more hidden cards," Shi Tian said blankly, his gaze remaining fixed on the lightning dome. He could perhaps try to cut it apart, but what would be the point?

Overwhelming a weaker opponent with brute force had never been his style; he wanted to see what kind of ace Liyu had hidden, and after Liyu revealed that ace, he would end him. That was Shi Tian’s plan, so rather than attack the lightning cocoon immediately, he simply stood there and waited calmly and patiently, as though he had all the time in the world.

Meanwhile, inside the lightning cocoon...Liyu was facing a pain he had almost never experienced before, or rather, a pain that had come dangerously close to claiming the top position on his list of the most painful moments in his life.

The only pain that still stood above it was the one he had experienced back then in the Beast Forest when he had overextended himself and consumed far too many Beast Cores in an attempt to forcefully break through his cultivation as quickly as possible, literally dying back then and keeping that pain at the very top.

But this came close, very close. His body was shifting, moving, trying to come back together. His limbs had been dismembered, his flesh had been sliced apart, and his entire body had been diced through and ravaged by an attack unlike anything he had experienced in this battle, making it practically impossible to describe the agony.

The Rapid Regeneration Pill was one of the aces he had secured from the shop, which he had kept hidden, and now, at this final, desperate moment, he had finally been forced to use it. Its effect was absurd, boosting his healing speed...which was already ridiculous because of his Primal Physique and the support of his Primal Qi...another twenty times.

Twenty times! The speed at which his body regenerated was simply beyond reason as flesh rapidly reconnected, bones shifted back into place, severed limbs began rebuilding, blood vessels reformed, and everything that had been torn apart desperately tried to return to its original state.

But even with such terrifying regeneration...the pain and burden remained. Healing at such an abnormal speed meant that Liyu was also forced to bear the overwhelming sensation of his body reconstructing itself almost instantaneously.

Every nerve screamed, every inch of his body burned, his consciousness wavered, and the burden became so heavy that his mind nearly shut down, his thoughts beginning to fade and his awareness beginning to sink.

It would have been so easy to simply let go, to allow himself to fall unconscious, and to let the darkness take him. But...no. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Not here. Not against that devil.

Through sheer willpower, Liyu forcibly held onto his consciousness, his determination to survive burning brighter than the pain, his desire to stand back up, his refusal to lose, and his refusal to allow that emotionless bastard to be the one who ended him all becoming fuel.

He pushed harder, then harder, and harder still as his body continued to shift. The scattered pieces of flesh began meshing together, his severed limbs reconnected, his bones fused, his muscles regenerated, and his damaged organs repaired themselves bit by bit and little by little until his body returned and he was whole once more.

A deep sigh of relief escaped Liyu’s lips as his consciousness gradually became clear again, leaving him to simply breathe for several moments. So this is the true capability of the Restoration Pill...Only now did he truly understand just how ridiculous it was.

If he had consumed it under normal circumstances, it would have allowed him to return to his peak condition without making him suffer any noticeable burden at all, but this time, he had been forced to experience the entire process while being torn apart. Still, he had survived, and that was what mattered.

Liyu exhaled heavily as his body finally settled back into motion, his fingers moving, his arms following, his legs responding, and everything functioning again.

Then...his gaze changed, the relief disappeared, the exhaustion vanished from his expression, and darkness slowly descended over his eyes, making his gaze gloomy, cold, and dangerous as he slowly stood up. Inside the dark space of his consciousness, Liyu gave the system a mental command.

Immediately...the green lightning surrounding his body began to disperse under King Rayden’s command, the raging lightning gradually loosening its grip and receding, and the cocoon beginning to disappear layer by layer until the green lightning faded away completely.

And as it dispersed...Liyu’s dark gaze locked directly onto Shi Tian’s emotionless eyes. The two stared at each other without speaking or moving, until finally, the lightning cocoon vanished completely. And at that exact moment...Ding! Another system notification echoed inside Liyu’s mind. Skill Call has been used. Dead Eye Rayden has been called back to the system.

Liyu’s eyes narrowed. One clone. One consciousness. One additional source of strength. It still wasn’t enough. If fusing with one of his clones wasn’t enough...then there was only one thing left to do. Two. Liyu’s gaze became even darker. If one clone isn’t enough...then two would have to do.